Patient Zero
by Mina225
Summary: Willie Loomis is forced to give a blood sample to Dr. Woodard, and although Barnabas successfully switches the blood slides, he forgets that the good Dr. still has the needle that was used. In this alternate story line, we find out what could have happened if Dr. Woodard discovered his "condition" This is a stand alone story and is not connected to any other Mina Fiction work.
1. Chapter 1 - The Unwilling and Unwanted

_**Patient Zero**_

 _ **Chapter 1 - The Unwilling and Unwanted Patient**_

 _Willie Loomis is forced to give a blood sample to Dr. Woodard, and although Barnabas successfully switches the blood slides, he forgets that the good Dr. still has the needle that was used. In this alternate story line, we find out what could have happened if Dr. Woodard discovered his "condition" This is a stand alone story and is not connected to any other Mina Fiction / Willie Loomis Story._

 _Willie, Dr. Woodard, Barnabas, Julia, OC Emma, and others..._

 **A/N: While I still have another series that has remained unfinished, I wrote this for the Dark Shadows Digital Fanzine website. I do plan to complete the last in my other series "Playground Of Shadows" I hope you enjoy this in the meantime.**

* * *

"Dr. Woodard!" Willie was surprised to find the doctor waiting on the front porch of the Old House when he returned. "Wh-what are ya doin' here?" Willie held a bag of groceries in one hand and fumbled to get the key in the front door. It had been nearly a week since Barnabas forced him to sit and allow the doctor to take his blood, and he wasn't thrilled to see him again. "Barnabas ain't home, if that's who you're lookin' for." He pushed the front door open and the doctor followed him in.

"I'm actually looking for you, Willie."

"Oh, yeah?" Willie nervously set the bag of groceries on the small table and tried to act like nothing was wrong. "Whadya need me for?"

"Willie, the blood that I took last week – "

"Yeah, I'm all clear", Willie interrupted, "you said so yourself. As normal as I could be. Sorry I wasn't much help for poor Maggie."

"Willie, sit down."

"I really can't. I have a lot to do before Barnabas gets back." His intuition told him that bad news was coming, he could feel it. Anytime anyone, in the history of forever, told someone to sit down, it was because they were about to share bad news.

"Willie, your blood sample, I checked it again, and the samples didn't match."

"How can that be? You took the samples yourself." Willie was trying to sound disinterested, but his heart started to race.

"Well, that I did, but I took a sample from the needle that I used to take your blood after I looked at the slides. That sample was much different than the one on the slide. The one I took from the needle had the exact same markers as Maggie Evans. In fact, the blood sample from the needle came from a very sick man."

"Maybe your needle was dirty, Dr. Woodard. Maybe it got contaminated. As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. You really gotta be goin' now. Thanks for your concern, but I'm real busy and don't have time for this."

"No, Willie. I don't believe that you are fine. I think you somehow managed to switch the slide, and I think you are seriously ill. Let me take another sample."

"Don't be silly; I'm healthy as a horse." Willie walked to the front door and put his hand on the doorknob. Dr. Woodard, you need to go. I'm not givin' up any more blood, and if I don't get my work done, I'm gonna to be in a lot of trouble."

"I was afraid you would say that. You could be contagious, a danger to others. Willie, I need you to cooperate. You've already spread whatever it is to Maggie, I can't take the risk of it spreading further."

"I'm not sick; I'm fine I tell ya!" Willie flung the door open, and tripped several steps backwards when he saw two men standing at the door. "Who the hell are you?"

The large men walked into the foyer and Willie backed himself up against the staircase.

"You need to come with me, Willie. Someplace where you will be safe and the rest of town will be safe too. It's just temporary. Write Barnabas a note, and let him know you had to leave town. Tell him it was a family emergency."

"What? No, NO! I'm not goin' anywhere; I'm stayin' right here."

Dr. Woodard pulled out an envelope and set it on the bookcase. "I was afraid you would say that. I don't want to do this the hard way, Willie, but you really leave me with no choice."

Willie's heart was thundering now. He turned to make a break for it and ran up the stairs. He made it to the top when he felt a sharp pain lance through his shoulder. One more step, then another, and his limbs suddenly weighed a hundred pounds each, and the hallway started to melt away. A third step and he collapsed to the floor, and several seconds later he was out cold, and the orderlies were carefully picking him up and carrying him back down the stairs and out of the old house, into a green and brown station wagon.

"You know where to take him." Dr. Woodard grabbed the keys that he saw Willie toss on the table. "Take his truck. I want him secured, but comfortable. And remember, not a word. I don't want this town in a full-

blown panic before I know what I'm dealing with."

"Yes, Doctor."

* * *

A heavy sigh escaped his chest as he climbed out of the coffin. _The lanterns are not lit_ , he noted silently. Barnabas climbed up the dark stairs, opened the door and entered another dark room.

"Willie!" Barnabas called out, agitated that his servant was not there to greet him, but there was no response. As he grabbed the matches and began to light the candles, a task that was far beneath him, he called out again into an empty house.

"Willie!" Barnabas began to search the house, remembering the last time the house was not aglow when he awoke. He found Willie unconscious in Josette's room with a lump on his head as large as a golf ball. Curtains were draped over his chest, the ladder was on its side, and one of the iron wall sconces was lying beside him. _Perhaps he has fallen again._

The inside of the house bared no trace of the young man, so Barnabas took to the outside. The beat up old truck was missing, just as his servant was. Puzzled, the vampire made his way back into the house, ready to put out his siren call, when he saw an envelope on the desk.

 _Dear Barnabas,_

 _I apologize for this late notice, but I had a family emergency. My pa was in a bad accident and I had to leave town and go check up on him. I'll be gone for a few days, possibly a week or longer. I'll send updates when I get them. Thanks for understanding._

 _\- Willie_

Barnabas stuffed the letter into his pocket and then stormed from the Old House and headed to Collinwood in search of Julia.

He knocked on the door and greeted Mrs. Johnson, careful not to set off any undue alarm, and then politely asked if Julia was present. Before he got an answer, Julia was standing on the landing and descended the stairs.

"What an unexpected visit," Julia sweetly greeted him.

"Julia, can we speak in private for a moment?" Barnabas walked into the study and she followed him, noting the anxiety in his voice. "Read this." Barnabas handed her the letter as he shut the door to the study.

Julia looked up at him when she was done with a puzzled look. "How odd, I should think he would talk with you first before leaving."

Barnabas snatched the letter back from her, "He didn't write it."

"You need to calm down. There must be a logical explanation. What makes you so certain he wasn't the author? You no virtually nothing about the man."

"I know everything! I've seen his every pathetic thought, his every memory. _Pa_ is the name he used for his bookie!"

"Barnabas, how can you be so sure?"

"Willie is an orphan, Julia. Both of his parents were murdered right in front of him when he was a small boy, a burglary gone bad. He has no _Pa_ in the true sense of the word. Someone wrote that letter for him. Someone who heard him talk about meeting his so-called _Pa_. Someone who knows nothing of the man."

"The poor boy; how tragic. To see such a horrific thing at such a young age. No wonder he—"

"Would you mind focusing on the topic at hand, Dr. Hoffman? Someone has taken Willie."

"Why on earth would someone want him? He has no money; a ransom seems fruitless."

"He has many enemies from his escapades with Mr. McGuire. It is imperative that I find him. He is vital to my existence, and I am vital to his."

"Why not ask Jason then? Perhaps he can shed some light on his whereabouts."

"I'm not convinced that Jason isn't the one who took him."

* * *

 **Beals' Manor, Maine**

The doors flew open and the cold winter air came blasting through and into the large foyer.

"Whoa! Wait a minute. Who is this?" A young woman spun around as two large orderlies carried in an unconscious man. "My uncle didn't say anything about bringing someone here today."

"We don't set the rules, Emma. We just do what your uncle tells us. He told us to bring this guy here, to secure him and make sure he was comfortable. So, where do ya want him?"

"I _don't_ want him. In case you didn't get the memo, I'm supposed to be leaving today for vacation. See?" The girl lifted a suitcase and wobbled it at them. "In exactly 8 hours and 25 minutes I will be on the beach with a drink in my hand and the sun on my face."

"I'm sure your uncle will be here before you leave. Now, where should we put him?"

"Ughh!" The petite young woman dropped the suitcase to the ground with a thud that echoed around the cavernous entry way of the old mansion. "What's wrong with him?"

"Don't know." The largest orderly shrugged.

"But he needs to be secured?" she asked, green eyes wide and concerned.

"Yup. He wasn't exactly a willing patient."

"Shit." She brushed the raven colored curls from her face and pulled her hair back and secured it with a green ribbon in a long ponytail, muttering to herself before she gave direction. "Put him in room C, I'll be right there." She headed towards the ringing phone and answered as the new patient was taken down the hall and out of sight.

"Hello? ..."

As soon as she heard the voice on the other end of the line she was momentarily relieved. "Uncle Dave, thank goodness, where are you? … " She was hoping he would tell her he was on his way. "Collinsport?! You know I'm leaving tonight, right?... I can't take care of him. What's wrong with him anyway?..." She twisted the cord around her finger nervously as she listened. "You don't _know_?..." The more she listened, the angrier she became. Emma kicked her suitcase and then began to raise her voice louder into the phone. "Are you serious? … So, let me get this straight, you don't know what's wrong with him, but you need him quarantined while you try to study his blood and figure it out?... Did you think for one minute if he IS contagious you are endangering me too?! … I don't care if you're in the middle of your research. I'm leaving, _tonight_ , so you better get back here a hell of a lot sooner or he'll just have to sit here alone ..."

She was furious.

"Damn you, this isn't fair! Hello? HELLO?" She slammed the phone down gave her suitcase a final angry kicking before one of the orderlies called for her; the ribbon shook loose from her hair and dark curls swarmed around her face.

"What!?" She snapped as she entered the large, and lavishly decorated room.

"How do you want him?"

"Just strap him down. Not too tight, make it so he can reach this and not piss himself." She opened the doors of an ornate, dark cherry wood cabinet, grabbed a plastic urinal bottle, and tossed it on the dresser next to the bed; she tried to avoid looking at the young man all together. "He's going to need to take care of himself until my uncle gets back."

"Emma, you can't just leave him here alone." Jack, one of the orderlies who brought Willie in, gently put his hand on her arm as she was walking out of the room. "The Doc wouldn't have had us bring him here if he wasn't sick."

"Eight years, Jack." She looked up at him, "I haven't been away from this hell hole in eight years. I've been taking care of these ungrateful assholes every single day since I was seventeen. Their rich families dumping them off because they're too embarrassed by them, or they can't handle them. They're never grateful. They don't even realize what a privilege it is to get to come to a place like this. Do you know, just last week, that horrible woman in room A spit at me as she was discharged?! Right in my face. That was the thanks I got after cleaning up her vomit and nursing her, and her little alcohol habit, back to health."

"I don't think he's like that. He was scared, Emma; you could see it on his face. He was terrified. Just look at him, does he look like some rich kid?"

Emma glanced over at him quickly. "They all look like that when they're sedated."

The young woman walked out of the room, and an internal fight began within her. _I'm going to just leave him. That'll teach my uncle to just dump people off on me. This is my only chance. If I don't do this I never will._ Emma packed a few last items and set them by the front door as Jack watched her.

Emma Susanna Martin moved into the manor with her uncle when she was seventeen. Abandoned at the age of three by her mother, she was raised by her father, and spent most of her time in dive bars and pool halls where her father would con people out of their hard-earned money. Emma wasn't sure if her father was always a criminal, or if he turned into one after her mother left, but it didn't matter either way. He was in and out of jail, and she was in and out of foster care for most of her young life. Two days before her sixteenth birthday he was arrested for murder, although he insisted it was an accident, and she disappeared into the streets until child protective services caught up with her and informed her that her long lost uncle was willing to take her in. Anything was better than living on the streets of south side Chicago, especially a mansion in the woods of Maine. Soon after she moved in, her uncle put her to work. He offered to pay for her schooling on one condition, she would remain at the manor and use her degree to assist with his patients. Nursing wasn't her first choice, but she didn't have many options. And now here she was, just as she was planning her getaway, some guy gets dumped on her and threatens to ruin all her plans.

"Don't look at me like that." Emma said, disgusted.

"Like what?" The orderly leaned against the wall and watched her.

"You know like what."

"I understand, ya gotta do what ya gotta do." Jack shrugged.

Emma rolled her eyes, and dropped her coat over her luggage. "Okay, okay. I'll go check on him. I can take the next ferry out. But I'm leaving tonight!"

Emma sat down, watching the new resident from an observation room, but her thoughts drifted to the first patient whom she treated at the exclusive hospital. A beautiful debutante who was well known in every prominent Hollywood social circle. People like that came to her uncle's facility because it was discrete, private care, and the place looked like a grand mansion, not a hospital. It was tucked away on a small island in Beals', Maine, about two hours from Bangor, and sat on 30 acres of otherwise uninhabited forest.

After working with the privileged, wealthy patients, and their absurd demands, Emma began to get irritated by it and started to wonder if it was fair for a place like this to exist, where only the filthy rich could afford to go. And worse, they treated her like a common street rat, as she changed their bedding, cleaned up their vomit, and made sure they had the proper medications and care. And here was another spoiled brat, some young guy from a well-to-do family, sent here to keep his mysterious ailment a secret so as not to ruin his family's reputation. It disgusted her. Emma was calculating the exact time she would need to leave to make the last ferry out when a noise startled her back to the mirror. The new resident was awake.

* * *

 _Cinnamon_. Just before he came to, he smelled the sweet aroma, and he was warm and comfortable. For the briefest of moments, he was transported to a time before his life fell apart. A time when he was a child and his mother was baking something in the kitchen and he was curled up in a blanket with cinnamon cocoa in his hands. His eyes fluttered open and focused on a flower pattern on the tin ceiling, and he turned his head, slowly looking around the room. It was large, with a giant stone fireplace that was roaring. The walls were covered in ornate dark wood and built in book shelves, and there was a bow window that went from the floor to the ceiling. Ornate furniture filled the room, all upholstered in rich red and brown material. It was an amazing room; a room that belonged in a story book; a room that he had never seen before—a room he didn't belong in.

 _Shit!_

Willie's heart began to race, but as he jumped up to get out of there, his reality prevented him. His arms and legs had been fastened down, and a thick strap had been fastened around his waist, allowing him to sit up, but not to get off the bed. He began to panic as he remembered Dr. Woodard and the orderlies that came to pay him a visit at the old house.

"Dr. Woodard! Hey! Dr. Woodard, let me outta here!" Willie was tugging and twisting, trying to get free. "Please! You don't understand! I haveta get back! I–I can't stay here!" More twisting and pulling followed, with pleads to be set free, frustration and fear overwhelming him. "Please, anyone!"

Willie calmed himself for a moment, and stared into the giant mirror hanging over the fireplace, his reflection looking back at him. His mind was racing. _Barnabas will go insane; he'll kill me for sure. He'll kill Dr. Woodard too. Maybe he already did. Oh, God, maybe he killed him and now no one will ever find me._ His thoughts raced like bees in a hive and he began to thrash again against the bed until he exhausted himself.

* * *

 _Well, well, sleeping beauty is finally waking up._ Emma re positioned herself and watched as the new patient slowly came to. She had seen this awakening many times before. Flurries of swear words and angry thrashing. In cases where the patients were brought against their will, she preferred to be out of the room when they woke up. Usually family members would be there instead. It was rare that they would be alone, like the young man before her now. _What kind of a family leaves someone like this?_

She watched as he went through the typical emotions, but was startled when he calmed and stared into the mirror. For a moment, she wondered if he could see her, and if she didn't know any better she would have thought he was staring right at her. She studied his face as he sat there, and where she was expecting to see anger, she saw only fear; _he's terrified_. The young nurse rose out of her chair and approached the glass to get a closer look when he suddenly began to thrash against the restraints. For nearly an hour he tugged and pulled until eventually he slumped down into the bed and began to tremble.

What on earth is wrong with him?

"You gonna go in and check on him?" Jack was standing in the door way, his white scrubs now replaced with jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, and a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"I'm going to have to at least once before I leave."

"You can't just leave him alone, you know that, and who knows when the doc is gonna show up."

"Oh, I'm leaving alright. After I check him in, I'm out of here." Emma shut the door to the observation room and grabbed her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff from cabinet in the hall. "I don't even know what's wrong with him." Emma sighed, and shook her head. "How could my uncle do this? Do you know anything about him? Anything at all that might help me understand why he's here?"

"We picked him up in Collinsport. Big mansion sitting up near the cliffs."

"Of course, another rich kid gone bad."

"I don't know, it was strange. The house looked like it was falling apart. Wallpaper all torn down, furniture looked old and ratty. It looked like the place had been abandoned. No power either, all candles. It was more like a haunted house than a home."

"And he was there alone?"

"Yeah. When the guy got one look at us he bolted, but we caught him, sedated him and brought him here."

"Strange."

Emma opened the door and Willie instantly jumped to attention.

"Hey…oh thank God. You - you gotta let me outta here. Dr. Woodard, he – he made a mistake, a real bad mistake. I – I'm not sick. He's got it all wrong."

Emma didn't answer back. She tried to ignore his rant as she wrestled with him to wrap the blood pressure cuff around his arm and began to pump.

"I'm tellin' ya, I need to get outta here!"

Willie continued to plead with her, but she had tuned him out. _Wow, his blood pressure is insanely high._

Emma then reached over him to place the stethoscope, but he fought every placement against his chest. She rolled her eyes and stuffed the instrument into her pocket.

Just as she was about to turn, Willie grabbed her arm and she turned towards him in shock.

"Please say something." Willie pleaded with the young woman, his frustrations ever mounting. "Where am I?"

A sharp, and unexpected pang of compassion hit Emma, but no response was returned as she yanked her hand from his and exited the room. _Don't get attached; you're leaving._

"You can't keep me here like this! Come back! Please come back!"

Emma left the room and then returned with another set of straps.

"Wha…what are you doin'?" Willie tried to distance himself from the girl without success.

Without a word, she began to strap one of his arms down tighter, so that it had no movement at all. She then grabbed a small needle and started to insert it into Willie's vein.

"You - You can't take my blood! You bitch! Let me go! You have no right to do this!"

Emma shot a piercing look at Willie, and he glared back, but after a moment his face softened and the fear reappeared. "You don't understand. I can't stay here."

Emma turned quickly away from him, gathered her samples, and bolted out of the room and back into the observation room.

"Look at him. Something isn't right with this guy." The large orderly responded.

They both looked on as Willie again began to fight against the restraints and tears of frustration slid down his cheeks. "Please, I can't stay here. I'm not sick!"

Emma looked at her watch, if she didn't leave within the next ten minutes she would miss her flight, and what was supposed to be the chance of a lifetime would be gone.

"The house staff can check in on him. I'm sure my uncle will be here within a day or so."

"Emma, they don't know how to take care of him. They know how to change the sheets and cook a meal, not care for a sick man."

"I'm leaving, Jack." Emma entered the foyer and grabbed her coat and luggage. "I already called a cab, he's out front. If you are so worried about the guy, then you can stay with him."

"Emma, he needs a trained nurse, what if something goes wrong?" He yelled to her as she was handing the cab driver her bags. "What if he dies?"

Emma pretended not to hear those last few words and waved goodbye through the cab window as they pulled away from the mansion.

"How long to the ferry?"

"Thirty minutes Miss."

Emma stared out the window, watching the trees flash by. He'll be fine. He wasn't even supposed to be there. Her thoughts drifted from one question to the next. _Where was his family? He looked so terrified. What if something IS wrong with him?_ She closed her eyes and all she saw were his pale blue eyes staring back at her. Sadness and fear swimming in them. It was gnawing at her. Something wasn't right with him, something more than just a bad habit that he needed to kick. Something dark and serious.

 _Don't do it. Don't say it_ … Emma tried to talk herself out of it, but she couldn't get the terrified young man out of her mind. Shit. "Turn around."

"Huh?" The cab driver swerved slightly after Emma tapped him on the shoulder

"I said turn around! I need to go back." Her voice was angry even as she said it. Angry at herself for making this decision.

"You want me to go back?" The cabbie turned to look back at her briefly.

"Yes."

Emma grabbed her bags as the cab drove away from her, leaving her standing in front of the grand mansion once again. She picked them up, stomped back into the house, and tossed them into the foyer.

"You're back!" Jack came down the hallway and watched her throw her things as if having a child's tantrum.

"Yes. I'm back," Emma spat at him. "Five thousand bucks down the toilet, years of planning. For NOTHING! All because of my stupid uncle and that stupid guy." Her voice was angry, and she was almost on the verge of tears. It was one of her biggest flaws. Every time she got angry tears would flow. People would mistake her for weak or sad, when in truth she would be furious.

"It's the right thing to do. I've been watching him. He's been trembling in that bed and really seems scared. Something is very wrong. I think maybe you should go in there and just try and talk to him. Calm him down if you can. I don't think he has any family comin'."

"I am so irate with this entire situation. I don't think I can calm him down. I'm just here to make sure the guy doesn't stroke out."

"You know you did the right thing. You're a good person Emma, even though you try so hard not to be."

* * *

"I've looked everywhere, Barnabas; no one has seen him." Julia took her gloves off, tugging one finger at a time, and set them on the table.

"I am convinced someone has taken him." Barnabas poured a glass of sherry and handed it to Julia.

"I'm surprised at you, Barnabas. You seem genuinely concerned."

"I have a great deal invested in the young man. I would truly hate to have to find someone else and start over."

"Well, he didn't just vanish. Someone must have seen him. I asked Dr. Woodard to have his staff keep an eye out for him while he is out on leave."

"Out on leave?"

"Yes, he asked that I stop by to take over a few of his psych evaluations. Seems he will be gone for a few weeks."

"Really? Did he indicate his reasons?" Barnabas thought it odd that the doctor would step away from his patients, especially Maggie Evans. Dr. Woodard had spent nearly every day checking in on her, funny that he would suddenly leave her.

"No. I didn't ask and he didn't volunteer any information." Julia watched as Barnabas walked towards the door and grabbed his coat. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, perhaps it is time to talk to the good doctor and see what could possibly be taking him away from his work here."

"You don't think he has something to do with Willie's disappearance?" Julia grabbed her coat and began to follow Barnabas out of the house.

"I think it is an odd coincidence and worth looking in to."

* * *

An entire day passed by, and then another. Emma brought Willie his meals, checked his vitals, and completely ignored every whimper, every angry rant, every name that he called her and the apologies that followed. She tried to ignore the fact that young man barely slept, and she never spoke a word to him, telling herself she was just biding her time until her uncle arrived. _Just make sure he doesn't die before he gets back. Don't get to know him. Just ignore him and don't get attached._

She forced herself to keep her distance until the third day. She went into the lab and looked at the blood samples. There was something very odd about them. Something bizarre and amazing and beautiful. Something that was not normal, maybe even not human.

After hours of tests, she emerged and burst into the patient's room.

"Okay, what's your deal." Emma stood firm, with her arms folded against her chest, determined to get an answer.

"She speaks." Willie retorted angrily, irritated with the young woman for ignoring him for days.

"Cut the crap. I looked at the blood samples, I know something is up, so spill it."

"First, tell me where the hell I am. Where did that bastard Woodard take me? And who the hell are you?" Willie pressed the button on the bed to make him sit in a more upright position.

"You're at Beals' Manor." She said matter of factly.

"What is Beals' Manor? Is that in Collinsport?"

"No, it's on Beals Island."

"Are we still in Maine?"

"Yes, I'm sure your rich little family told you they were sending you here." Emma walked closer to the bed to get a better look at him.

"I don't have a family, and I sure as hell have never heard of Beals' Island. What is this place? Can you please take these off me?" Willie shook his arms up flashing the hospital restraints.

"This is a hospital and rehabilitation facility. It is extremely private and ridiculously expensive, and those are staying put."

"Look, I got no money and no rich parents. I don't even have a family, or nothin'. Believe me, I'm nobody, so you may as well just let me go. If you're expecting me to pay to be here, I got no way to do it."

"Well, someone wants you here. Look, I told you where you are, now it's your turn. What is wrong with you? And don't say nothing because I've looked at your blood. I know something is going on here."

Willie stared at her with a stone-faced expression. "You had no right to take my blood."

"I had every right. My uncle just drops you off here, no warning, no nothing. I could just as easily have left you here in the care of the maids and cooks. I was supposed to be on vacation." Emma's voice was getting louder and she was getting angry. "I should be on a beach right now! Sipping drinks out of cups made of pineapples! I took all the money I had to go on that vacation! And you know what really sucks?" She was pacing now, and ranting at the young man. "I wasn't coming back! I was going to find a nice little nursing job in the islands, and I was never coming back here. I put a deposit on a cute little apartment. But then YOU," she seethed, "you show up, looking terrified and scared and alone. I was in the cab at the ferry, but I couldn't get you out of my head! I can't stop thinking about you and your stupid big sad eyes. I came back to take care of YOU!" She tried to fight it, but the inevitable anger tears started to fall and she kept trying to wipe them away before they streamed down her cheeks. "So, don't tell me I have no right to take your blood! I'm trying to help you and figure out what is wrong with you!"

Willie sat wide eyed and quiet for a few moments of extreme awkwardness.

"I – I'm sorry. I'm sorry you came back. But, I – I didn't ask to come here." Willie's voice was low and calm. "I was highjacked, I'm being held here against my will. Your uncle is Dr. Woodard?" Emma nodded in confirmation, "he Shanghaied me and brought me here. He thinks I have some kind of contagious blood disorder. But I'm not…I'm not contagious. I'm not anything, or anyone to anybody. Please, let me go and then you can go too! A win – win."

"Your blood," Emma sat down beside Willie again, "your blood isn't normal. It is resistant to everything. Your white blood cells are like super heroes. They attacked and killed every foreign body I introduced them to. It's like you're immune to everything. It's a miracle."

Willie reached over as far as the restraints would let him, and gently put his hand on hers. "If you don't let me go, I'll die here. Nothing you have will be able to save me. I need to get back to Collinsport. I don't have much time." Willie knew he was never allowed to leave Collinsport. Not without explicit approval from his master. Any time he tried, and he tried repeatedly in the beginning of his captivity, he would sooner or later get violently ill, and the sickness would get worse with every day he tried to stay away. It was like some kind of curse, and the only cure was to get back to the Old House.

* * *

"Good evening, doctor." Barnabas startled the man as he was putting suitcases in his car. "Planning a trip?"

"Barnabas, Julia, what an unexpected visit. Yes, I am headed out for a few days, traveling to a conference."

"I see. Is Maggie Evans no longer under your care?"

"She is, but she seems to be stable, and her father is taking very good care of her. A few days won't matter. How is Willie doing? I assume he is getting along with no problems?" Dr. Woodard was squirming beneath his fake expression. He wanted to get in his car and get out of there as fast as possible.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Barnabas pierced a stare through Dr. Woodard. "He has left town for a few days. Visiting his Pa, it would seem."

"Good for him. Well, I really must be going. Perhaps we can share a nice brandy when I return; my treat." The doctor climbed into his car as Barnabas said his well wishes, and the green station wagon disappeared down the road. The vampire and Julia followed a safe distance behind, certain that they would be led directly to Willie.

* * *

"Willie, wake up." Emma sat beside the bed, dabbing his forehead as a fever continued to climb within the young man. "You're having another nightmare."

She gently shook him, and he awoke, eyes glassy and distant at first.

"Take these."

"They won't help. You can't help me."

"My uncle will be here tonight; he'll know what to do." She held his hand and brushed the hair from his eyes. A week had passed, and during that time she grew quite worried. She sat with him every night, and after her anger towards him subsided, she got to know a little bit about him; he didn't give up much. But it turned out their childhood had been more similar than she could have imagined. On the fifth night, however, he began having nightmares and fevers. He would have fits of nausea and could barely keep any food down. He would scream horrific things in his sleep, and talk of terrifying acts of cruelty. Being buried alive, having the blood sucked from his veins. It was progressively getting worse and she was scared for him. She had removed all the restraints with exception of the one around his waist. She still didn't want him leaving, for fear that he would try, and end up dying without proper care.

"Your uncle can't help me either. He's gonna come for me, and when he does, you're all gonna be in terrible danger."

"Shhh, just rest." Emma jumped when she heard the front door slam shut. "Oh, thank God, he's here."

She rushed down the hallway and into the foyer. Her uncle was standing there shaking the snow from his coat.

"Ah, good, you're still awake."

"Where the hell have you been? I am so furious with you."

"I came as soon as I could."

"Do you have any idea how sick Willie is? His fever is so high he is hallucinating! Talking about vampires and being buried alive."

"Is he awake now?"

"See for yourself."

* * *

Barnabas and Julia stood on the porch of the stately mansion, he could now feel that Willie was near, and his need to feed from his servant was at an all-time high. But there was one problem: getting in.

They walked around the grounds and found what must have been the servants' entrance. A home of this size would almost certainly have staff to support it, and he couldn't chance ringing the main bell and have Dr. Woodard answer. So, the pair went to the back door and knocked gently.

"Have you any idea what time it is?" An elderly woman opened the door dressed in her house coat and clearly not prepared for visitors. She adjusted the curlers in her hair as she waited for a reply.

"Why, yes, I was wondering if you could be so kind as to allow us to visit a patient. No one answered the main door, so I thought I would try here. We are here to see a Mr. William Loomis. I am a dear friend who is also financing his stay here."

"We're not supposed to take visitors through this entrance, but it's late and that storm out there isn't getting any better. Come in, I'll show you to the waiting room."

Barnabas shot a look at Julia and she knew what to do, she pulled out her medallion as Barnabas crossed the threshold of the house, and before the woman could shut the door and lock it, the mysterious visitor had vanished and the old woman was staring into the swinging gold and jewels held in Dr. Hoffman's hand.

* * *

Dr. Woodard and Emma sat in the observation room having a heated argument.

"You _kidnapped_ him. Since when do you abduct patients? And then you left me here with him!" Emma made no attempt to control her anger. "Have you any idea how terrified he is? The things he shouts in his sleep are horrific. I'm so worried about him."

"I had hoped he would come willingly, but knew better, so enforced quarantine was necessary. His employer keeps a short leash on him, which means Willie doesn't make a single move without Mr. Collins' approval, and even then he seems to have anxiety issues."

"So, you spent extra time researching him, what is this mystery disease? What on earth makes kidnapping justifiable?"

"I have good reason to believe that he has some sort of virus that is mutating his blood stream; it may be contagious. I brought him here to ensure that no one else in Collinsport contracts the infection."

"Yes, about that! You have had me taking care of a man you think might be contagious and you didn't think to tell me first?" Emma's fury was about to become explosive.

"Well, I don't know for sure. But I certainly couldn't have an epidemic on my hands."

"Yet you figured it was fine to infect your niece? That poor man has some severe illness, I don't know what it is, but he deserves better than to be dragged into a strange place, tethered down like a dog, and made to wait until you decide to address it."

"You've become attached, that's a first for you isn't it?"

"He is a human being, and a very sick one! And you have endangered every person here if he is truly is contagious!"

"Seems more than that. Emma, dear, I'm going to bed. I am exhausted. When I wake in the morning I will relieve you of your duty and you are free to go."

He walked out of the room and headed to the private wing of the facility, but Emma didn't leave. She dimmed the lights and sat vigil, keeping an eye on Willie. An hour later, the door to Willie's room opened. Uncle Dave must be checking on him.

To Emma's surprise, a strange man walked into the room. Tall, thin and menacing looking. She pressed the silent panic button.

She watched as the man woke Willie up, and listened to their conversation.

"How did you get here?" The strange man growled at Willie.

"I – I was taken here. Th-they kidnapped me."

"Who did?"

"I – I don't know."

"Lies! Do not LIE to me, Willie!" The vampire struck Willie, and Emma gasped. She began to furiously press the button.

"I know it was Dr. Woodard! Why did you not return?"

"I couldn't leave, Barnabas. I – I can't get loose!" Willie tugged on the padlocked belt around his waist and then collapsed back on the bed.

"Did you let them take your blood?"

Willie was cowering now, unable to escape.

"You FOOL! He took it didn't he!" Another whack against his head. Emma grimaced, and nearly bolted out the door to rescue him when the evil visitor jump upon the bed. What Emma saw next was so terrifying, it paralyzed with fear.

"No, Barnabas, don't! Please!" The vampire sunk his teeth deep into Willie's neck, and the young man writhed in pain, making low guttural sounds. Emma shook with terror, trying desperately to hide her screams in her hands, but the scene was far too much of a shock, and she fainted, cracking her head on the cabinet as she went down.

* * *

"Did anyone else see you or attend to you while you were there?"

"N-No. J-Just the regular help." Willie was shivering beside the fireplace, a thick blanket wrapped around him.

"No other doctors, no nurses? No others took your blood with exception of Woodard?"

"N-no, no one else." Willie's tried desperately to make himself sound confident. "The regular staff, they brought me meals and stuff. I – I guess the nurse was on vacation."

"I see."

"Julia, did you take care of everyone?"

"Yes. They should have no recollection of Willie whatsoever." She said, proud of herself.

Willie sat quietly and rocked back and forth on the floor, hoping that he had protected Emma. If Barnabas knew of her, she would be dead before sunrise.

* * *

"Emma, wake up. Are you okay?" Jack gently rocked the young woman back and forth as her eyes rolled open. "Hey, what are you doing in here?"

With a jolt, Emma bolted up and backed up against the wall. "D-Did you see it?" running up to the mirror she looked into the patient's room. "Where is he?"

"Where is who?" Jack looked at her confused.

"Who?! Willie, that's who. Last night this…this thing came into the room and… and…" Emma was shaking.

"No one has been in here Emma. You must have had one hell of a dream. Oh, good morning doctor."

Dr. Woodard walked into the small room, confused by the scene. "Emma, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?! You can't be serious! What is going on here? Where is Willie?"

"Emma, maybe you should lie down. Come on, let's get you checked out, you have a rather large bump on your forehead."

"I'm talking about Willie, the patient you kidnapped!"

"You must have hit your head pretty hard. Let's get you looked at."

* * *

 **One Month Later**

Willie was sitting at the counter of the diner, grabbing a quick bite to eat for lunch before he had to return to the Old House. His afternoon task list would keep him busy and would not allow any time for a dinner break.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

"No." Willie answered quickly and got just enough of a look at the person taking the seat beside him to choke on his coffee.

"Shit," he whispered under his breath.

"A coffee, please, to go. And a blueberry muffin."

"What on earth are you doing here?" Willie whispered. The last person he ever expected to see again was Emma.

She set her money on the counter, took the to-go cup and the paper bag with the muffin and thanked the waitress. As she slid off the counter stool she took a piece of paper and discretely slid it into Willie's pocket, then left the diner without a word.

Willie quickly paid his bill and headed out into the street. There was no trace of her. He reached into his pocket and read the note.

 _You owe me some answers. I saw everything._  
 _Meet me tomorrow at the museum at noon._  
 _If you don't show up, I'll come to your house in the evening._  
 _-Emma_


	2. Chapter 2 - Caught With A Stranger

**Patient Zero**

 ** _Chapter 2 - Caught With A Stranger_**

Willie shoved his hands deep in his coat pocket, tucked his head down, and quickly headed back to the truck. Once inside, he popped open the glove box, dug out his lighter and pulled the note out. He held the flame to the paper and watched it turn to ash. Barnabas couldn't be allowed to find it; if he did, the girl would be as good as gone.

 _Is she crazy? Why on earth did she come here? How did she find me?_ He started up the truck and began heading for home. _She's prettier than I remember. Stop, don't think like that._ Willie sat at the stop light, tapping the steering wheel nervously. _What on earth does she want? Were her eyes always that green? Loomis, keep it together!_

Before he knew it, Willie was in the driveway, trying to figure out if he would meet her or not. _I'll figure it out tomorrow; better just sleep on it._

* * *

The museum in Collinsport wasn't a normal one – with marble columns and piles of dinosaur bones - it was actually a lumber museum, which attracted adults and kids from all over Maine. The museum had thousands of objects, ranging from prehistoric stone tools to a variety of twentieth century chain saws. It sat on 100 acres of land and had interactive experiences, allowing visitors to simulate activities such as swinging an ax, sawing a tree, piloting a log raft, and racing locomotives. In the summer, the attraction would be swarming with people, but in the winter, most of the outdoor exhibits were closed. The walking trails, however, remained open and cleared of snow, allowing guests to walk through the old logging camp and peer inside the windows of log cabins. Willie stood in front of one of the cabins wondering if he would even find Emma on the vast property. Luckily, or unluckily for him, he didn't need to find her; she found him.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to come." Emma snuck beside Willie and scared the daylights out of him.

Willie turned to her, her large green eyes staring up at him like saucers, and waited for what she was going to say next.

"I'm not crazy. It really happened, didn't it?" She leaned towards him, wanting to know she hadn't lost her mind. "Please, tell me I'm not crazy. No one remembers! They – they all keep telling me that I imagined you. They all think I'm insane. But, when you recognized me at the diner, I knew...I knew I wasn't crazy."

 _This is my out. Pretend I don't know her and she'll just go away._

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Willie said, cringing inside for lying.

"Yes, yes, you do." She poked his chest, startling him this time with physical contact. "Explain then how it is you know me, and why you nearly pissed yourself when I showed up at the diner." Emma stood stoically waiting for an answer.

"I thought you were someone else. Now that I see ya up close, I know I was wrong; ya aren't who I thought ya were. I never seen you before." Another pang of guilt ran through him, and she looked genuinely hurt by his words.

"You're lying. Why are you lying? I – I took care of you! I held your hand and sat with you all day and all night when you were sick. I held you when the nightmares came." As she got more frustrated, tears started to slip down her cheeks. "I'm not crazy! Why would you lie to me? I saw that man strike you, and how afraid you were." Emma got uncomfortably close to Willie and in a voice slightly louder than a whisper, said, "I saw that thing suck the blood from you, right from your neck. Like a vampire… That thing isn't human."

Willie put his hands on her shoulders, and gently backed her away. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talkin' about." Willie put his head down, unable to look her in the eyes.

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I gotta get goin'. Sorry ya wasted your time." Willie started to walk away, a knot in his stomach forming as he left; listening to her plead was painful.

"I'm not crazy! I know what I saw! How can you lie to me?" Emma stood alone and sobbed as Willie walked away. He never looked back.

* * *

"Did you pick up everything for the party this evening?" Barnabas smoothed out the tablecloth as he walked past it.

"Yes, Barnabas. I did everything just as you asked." Willie watched nervously as his master inspected the preparations.

"And the wine from the cellar, you have brought that up as well? Dusted off the bottles and prepared the crystal?"

"Yes."

"Everything looks to be in order. You have done well this evening; I am pleased."

Although Barnabas didn't notice, Willie let out a sigh of relief that he had been holding in the entire day. New Year's Eve was the only night in which the guests were expected to stay through the night, and Barnabas could enjoy in the full festivities. It was also quite possibly the most stressful day of the year for Willie. In years past, he had made some mistakes, some so grave that he found himself locked in the cellar to think about his blunders. But tonight, he took extra care, waking up before the sun to start preparing. Hoping that all was perfect so that he could enjoy one night to do as he pleased, within the guidelines that Barnabas put forth, and put his encounter with Emma from several days before behind him.

"You may go, Willie. I do not expect to see you until tomorrow evening. Please ensure that the mess is thoroughly picked up prior to my waking."

"Yes, Barnabas." Willie didn't hesitate to grab his coat and keys, and out the door he flew. _Today was a good day_ , he thought to himself. Sure, he was still nursing a wound on his face and a limp in his step that Barnabas had caused, but today he managed to steer clear of another assault. If anyone would have asked him prior to arriving at Collinwood if he would ever get beaten over a set of napkin rings, he would have laughed in their face. But now, he understood the consequences of accidently having one thrown into the trash, and ruining a complete set. And even though he wasn't the one who threw it out, that it had been Carolyn, he took the blame.

His first stop was the diner. Willie ate a quick meal and then ordered a second one to go, with two slices of pie and extra mashed potatoes. It would be cold by the time he ate it, but he figured once midnight came he would at least have something to eat, even if he was alone.

Next stop was the Blue Whale. Getting drunk was not within the guidelines, but maybe a little buzz would be okay.

"Hey, Willie. What can I get ya?" Bob put his newspaper down and slid off his barstool.

"Beer, and make it a big one, would ya?" Willie put a five-dollar bill on the bar and settled in. If there was one safe place to be on New Year's - where he wouldn't run into anyone - it was the Blue Whale. Other townsfolk were with family and friends, and he didn't have either.

"Barnabas havin' his big party tonight?" Bob asked. He already knew the answer, but attempted to make small talk.

"Yeah." Willie continued to drink his beer and chat with the bartender, as if he were any normal patron, until their attention was turned bu the sound of a sneeze on the opposite end of the bar. Willie hadn't even noticed someone there.

"Who's that?" Willie asked, handing over his glass for a refill while looking at the lump slumped over.

"Don't know. She came in here 'bout an hour before you. Pretty thing too. Already had a few in the bag when she walked in, then passed out there. I figured when she woke up I could get her in a cab to wherever she's goin'. Safer if a girl like that passes out where I can keep an eye on her, versus out in the street somewhere."

"You ever see her in here before?" Willie couldn't get a good look at the woman's face.

"Nope. First time tonight." Both men turned towards the woman as she began show signs of life. When she raised her head from her folded arms, and the waves of curls unfolded; Willie knew her instantly.

 _Shit._

It took a minute for her to come around, but when she did, she had laser focus on Willie.

"Y-You _…_ ", she seethed, "you ruined everything!" The previously motionless woman was now standing at attention and holding onto the bar as if it were a railing attached to a boat on rocky seas.

"Seems she knows you." Bob watched as the girl walked towards Willie, gripping the bar as she moved.

"I walked away from my entire future because of you. Your lyin', no good … _hic …_ no good ass." She turned towards Bob as she pointed at Willie. "Did you know he's a liar? A no good, lyin' bastdard?"

"Yes, ma'am." Bob nodded and grinned, finding the situation amusing.

"Bob, you aren't helpin' any." Willie stood up as she approached him.

"E-everyone thinks I'm nuts! But I – I know what I saw."

"What are you doing in here? You should go home."

"Don't you _…hic…_ tell me where I should go." Emma was boiling mad. "You know what I saw?" She turned her attention back to the bartender. "I saw a vampire suck the blood right out of him. Saw it with my own two eyes." Emma went to sit on the bar stool next to Willie, but missed, and Willie caught her before she hit the ground.

"Is that so?" Bob asked, jokingly.

"She's drunk, talking crazy. Can you pour me two coffees to go? And some aspirin? I'm gonna to take her to get somethin' to eat and help her sober up a bit."

"I'm not crazy. I saw it." Emma muttered, and then tumbled into Willie's arms and grabbed onto him as she stared up into his eyes. "You're a good-looking liar though. I can't stop thinking _hic_ thinking about you."

"Come on, let's get you outta here." Willie got her tucked around him, grabbed the coffees and left. He didn't have a choice and needed her to shut up before Bob got suspicious. "Let me help you up." Willie helped Emma into the truck and then ran around to the other side. "Here's a blanket if you're cold. It takes a bit for the heat to kick in. Drink this and take these." He handed her the coffee and little white pills, and she took them, mumbling something in between sips.

Willie started to drive, trying to figure out where to take her. _Can't be where people are, too risky_ , _and she's gonna feel terrible; don't want her to be embarrassed_. There was only one place he could think of - an abandoned cottage tucked away on the shoreline. Willie went there every so often to be alone; it was his sanctuary, and his master allowed it. In fact, Barnabas had encouraged it, as it gave Willie a place to go when he was feeling melancholy, and Barnabas wouldn't have to deal with him. However, ever since Willie's return from Beals, the visits became more and more frequent, and Willie's mood grew darker and darker with each passing sunset.

* * *

With a barely manageable bundle of firewood in his arms, Willie walked into the room and quietly set the logs on the crumbling hearth. He took his time stacking it, knowing that she was awake and probably staring at him. His leg began to twitch nervously as he crouched down, waiting for her to say something. After stalling for as long as he could, he turned around, avoiding eye contact, and sat cross legged on the floor a good distance away from her and the fire.

"I won't bite." She said softly. "It's cold over there, come closer to the fire where you can be warm." She patted the floor beside her. "Come on."

"I'm good right here."

"Fine, I'll just come to you, and we can both freeze."

Emma scooted backwards, away from the fire, until she was right beside Willie, and she sat quietly. An uncomfortable tension radiated between them and they both were shivering in the cold, but a standoff had begun. Neither of them wanted to be the one to give in. They sat beside each other like stubborn children, until Willie saw that her teeth were chattering.

"This is ridiculous." Willie stood up and moved towards the fire and plopped down in front of it, warming his hands close to the flames, knowing she would come closer too, and warm up.

Emma silently chuckled as he got up, happy with her small victory of not giving in first. She joined him next to the fire, wrapped the blanket around them both, and sat a little closer to Willie than he would have liked. The warmth of her beside him, a contact that wasn't intended to do harm, was a feeling long forgotten, and suddenly he ached for it.

"What time is it?" _A simple question. Break the ice,_ she thought.

"Huh?" The memories of happier times, and the warmth of a beautiful woman, had him dazed.

"The time?"

"Oh..uh..eleven thirty." Willie looked at her through blond sweeps that had fallen over his eyes. "How are you feelin'? Are you hungry?"

Emma thought about it and, to her surprise, realized that she was starving. "I could eat."

Willie pulled out a bag and ripped it, flattening it out on the ground. He grabbed a second bag and revealed several pieces of fried chicken, a container of mashed potatoes, and the extra pie from the diner. "I'm sorry, it's not much, just diner food - and it's cold- probably not very good, but it's all I got. I didn't realize that –"

"It's perfect." Emma interrupted and smiled sweetly at him, realizing that this probably _was_ all he had, possibly all he had in the world, and he was offering it to her. She studied him as he picked at his makeshift dinner, noticing the fresh bruises on his face and a cut on his cheek. She saw his limp when he came in with the firewood. His jacket was terribly thin for this kind of weather, and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He was a broken man, with hauntingly beautiful eyes, and she was drawn to him like a moth to the moon. She had been since she laid eyes on him at Beals.

"What?" Willie snapped his head up, taking her by surprise. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Her attention was making him uncomfortable. He could feel her eyes on him all night, studying him, making him feel like an animal at the zoo or a freak. Everyone in town stared at him, watched him come and go, sneering behind his back. He hated it and hated everyone who did it.

"You need someone to take care of you."

Willie gave a snort of derision. "I'm just fine."

"Really? You sure as hell don't look fine, and you weren't fine at Beals. You look like you haven't slept in years. You're obviously hurt, and you don't hide the limp very well. You aren't dressed appropriately for this kind of weather and your hands are cracked from the cold. Not to mention that you're spending New Year's Eve in an abandoned, broken-down building on the edge of nowhere. And my guess is that your little blood condition hasn't changed either."

"Anything else?" Willie said flatly, anger starting to light up his eyes.

Emma's voice softened. "I'm worried about you. Please, tell me. Tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help." She moved closer to him again, her eyes looking up and pleading, taking his hand in hers. "What was that thing that came into your room? I saw it suck the blood from you, like a vampire. I know I did. It was horrific."

"Finish up, and then I'll drive ya to a hotel." He ignored her questioning, removed his hand from hers, and began to stoke the fire a bit more, turning his back to her.

"Why did you bring me here anyway? Surely it wasn't to impress me." Emma looked around at the ruins that surrounded them. Secretly, she thought that it was a bit charming, or at least could be with some hard work.

"You were stone drunk. I didn't want to just dump you off on some stranger." Willie shifted uncomfortably, and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think you were looking out for me. Just like you did when you didn't tell that _thing_ about me, or my brain would have been zapped just like the others."

Willie looked back up at her, almost about to say something, but then simply shook his head and kept quiet.

"I'm right. You don't need to answer. I took care of you, and you took care of me."

Willie rolled his eyes, a feeble attempt to pretend she wasn't right. "Are you done?"

"No, I'm NOT done." Emma was irritated, _he'll know when I'm done!_

Willie pointed at the food. "With the food. Are you finished?"

Embarrassed at misunderstanding, she smiled at him. "Oh, um…yes, thank you."

The pair sat in silence again. Emma watched as Willie gathered up the bones from the chicken and tossed them into the fire. The remaining potatoes and pie got wrapped carefully back into the foil it came in, and placed back into a bag. Emma took notice, thinking that food was something this man did not take for granted. If fact, it was something he may not have gotten much of, and her heart sank further for him. For the next several minutes they both watched the flames dance around in the fireplace, and Emma kept track of the minutes as they ticked on towards midnight.

"Happy New Year."

"What?" Willie looked over at her, and had no time to react to the young woman as she quickly scooted close to Willie and kissed him on the cheek.

"It's midnight. You need to kiss someone at midnight, or it's bad luck." She watched his cheeks turn rosy with embarrassment, and then leaned to kiss him again, and for a brief moment he forgot that his life was not his own. It was a moment he wanted to last a lifetime, but when she pushed slightly on his leg to balance herself, the pain from a fresh punishment yanked him back to his nightmare.

"Don't. I can't." Willie stared at the ground, and she gently ran her hand through his hair.

"I feel it, don't you? There's something between us. I felt it the minute you arrived at the hospital. Even when you were screaming at me like a lunatic. Believe me, I wouldn't have blown my entire future for just anyone."

Their conversation was shattered when a booming voice came crashing down on them from the outside of the house, yelling Willie's name. If it had been anyone or anything else, Willie would have welcomed it to get out of the conversation that almost took place.

"Willie?"

Willie scrambled to his feet and ice instantly began to flow through his veins. Panic and fear. Emma jumped to her feet as well, and Willie stood in front of her, his arm stretched back to keep her from coming forward.

"Willie!" Barnabas, dressed in all black with menacing cane in hand, came charging through the front door.

"I'm here, Barnabas."

"Ah, excellent. I need you to return to the Old Hou –" Barnabas noticed the girl and paused for a moment to inspect her. "And who is this?" he asked with a hint of charm in his voice.

"I – I just met her tonight. She was –"

"Emma. Pleasure to meet you." Emma walked around Willie, stuck out her hand, and with all the confidence of a prize fighter, strode directly to Barnabas, looked him in the eyes, and introduced herself.

"Willie was kind enough to keep me from making a ridiculous fool of myself this evening."

"Is that so?"

"Can you believe my boyfriend, of four years I might add, dumped me on New Year's Eve?" Emma forced a few tears to make it more believable, "I mean, who does that? So, regrettably, I drank myself silly while feeling sorry for myself, and passed out at the Blue Whale. That's where I met Willie."

"And how, might I ask, did you wind up together here?" Barnabas looked directly at his servant, and Willie knew that it was he who was supposed to answer, not the girl.

"I – I didn't want to just leave her there. Bob wanted to close, so I brought her out here to sober up. I was just plannin' on takin' her to the hotel now."

"I see." Barnabas wrapped his hand around Willie's wrist, and his iron grip squeezed tighter and tighter.

Willie looked up at his master, his eyes beginning to water from the pain. "Please, don't, " He whispered, one second before the young man heard something crack, which was immediately followed by a sharp pain that radiated through his elbow and into his shoulder. Emma heard Willie's breath hitch, and a muted gasp escape him as his eyes glossed over and flooded with fear.

"Well, I came to retrieve you as we have a small problem at the house and your assistance is required."

"Yes, Barnabas. I'll take her to a hotel and then head straight there."

Barnabas didn't buy a single word of their story, and knew that bringing them back to the house would force the truth out of them. "Nonsense. Emma, it would be my pleasure to have you stay with us for the evening. Willie can drive you where you need to go in the morning."

"Oh, I don't want to be a bother."

"I insist. Willie, put the fire out here, and then return post haste."

"Y-yes Barnabas."

* * *

Willie started the truck and the pair headed down the coast.

"Who is he?"

"My boss."

"No, I mean _who_ is he. His name, where is he from?" She turned to face him as he drove and studied his face as she listened, what she saw she could only describe as terror twisting around him like a suffocating vine.

"Barnabas Collins. He and his family own this town and everyone in it."

"Including you?"

"Yes, includin' me."

"Did he give you this?" Emma reached up and gently touched the side of Willie's face, gesturing to the cut on his cheek. Willie flinched back as if she had struck him herself. "He did, didn't he. You're frightened of him. I saw the same look in your eyes when you were at Beals." She gently placed her hand on his arm. "I know what I saw, and I saw that man…that thing…with you…and what it did to you. Somehow he managed to wipe everyone's memory of the event."

Willie tried to ignore the pressure on his arm, the light touch that felt like an anvil crushing his bones. Willie swallowed hard and then yanked the steering wheel with one hand, and pulled the truck over to the side of the road. Once parked, he turned and looked at her. "You are a loose end, and if he finds out, he'll kill you; you won't be lucky enough for him to just make ya forget. He won't even think twice about it. If he finds out I lied, I'll be lucky if he kills me." Willie stared out towards the road, his hands starting to tremble.

"Why not just leave?" Emma asked, confused.

"He isn't human. He – He's …"

"He's a monster, that's what he is." She brushed the hair that slipped over his eyes away once again and cupped his cheek gently, but a second later the sad eyed man twitched his head sideways to remove it, and swallowed hard.

"He's cursed…and so am I. That _thing_ made it so I can't leave him." His voice tremored with confusion and a touch of anger. "I - I don't understand how, but if I'm away for too long, my body just shuts down. I've tried so many times to get away, but he's infected me with somethin'; somethin' only he can cure. He feeds from me to keep me alive and under his control. I can never leave him, never…if I do…" His voice trailed off and tears started to well and escape down Willie's face; he couldn't stop them, no matter how humiliated he felt. Talking about this to someone else, saying the words out loud, made it painfully real. As if before, when no one knew, it wasn't really happening; it was just a bad dream.

"I tried to kill myself in the beginning. One step. One little step off the cliff and this nightmare would've been over. But he showed up, he knew somehow, and caught me. The punishment afterwards was so awful I wouldn't dare try again." Willie's breathing started getting jagged as he remembered those first few days, and his heart started to race while his leg bounce furiously.

"What did he do?" Emma was horrified listening to Willie.

"He told me that if I wanted to die, jumpin' off a cliff was too good for me. A grave robber deserved a far worse death. He tied my hands and feet, gagged me, and locked me in a coffin." Willie started to feel sick at the memory.

"For how long?"

"Don't know. Three or four days, that's how long people say I went missin'" Willie picked at the seat cushion of the truck. "That's why I can't stand the dark; why I made ya keep a light on all night at Beals." His wrist began to throb harder and grow more painful; he reached over with the other hand and held it. "Jesus, I think he broke it…"

"Oh, my God." Emma reached over and gently pulled Willie into her arms and held him. She could feel him shudder against her. "I'm sorry, Willie. So sorry." She held him for several minutes, stroking his back, until eventually he calmed and pulled away.

"I don't know why I told you all that. I shouldn't' have."

Emma held his hand and brushed the hair from his eyes. "And no one else knows?"

"No." Willie laughed sadly. "Who would believe something like that? People stay away from me, Emma. They think I'm some kind of freak… It's better that way"

"It must be so lonely."

Willie didn't acknowledge the last comment. It was too hard to think about a lifetime of aching loneliness.

"So, you live with him?"

"Yes."

"Are there others like you?"

"No." Willie had no intention on bringing up Maggie.

"I assume he was in the grave you were robbing?"

He rolled his eyes at the question. "Obviously." With the turn of the key the truck started to hum.

"So, where should I take you?"

"Well, back to the house, with you, I assume."

"No, that's not safe."

"If I don't go, it looks rather suspicious, doesn't it?

"You'd be risking your life. Emma, I can't protect you there."

"What happens to you if I don't show up?"

 _Nothing Good._

"Doesn't matter."

"I'm coming with you, then I'll leave in the morning."

The two drove the rest of the way in silence, each thinking of what would happen next. Willie wondered what his punishment would be, and Emma worked on ways to kill the monster.


	3. Chapter 3 - You're Free Now

**Patient Zero**

 ** _Chapter 3 - You're Free Now_**

Once they arrived at the house, Emma was ushered to a room to turn in for the night, and Willie was taken to the kitchen to address a plumbing issue. But she was far too curious for sleep and needed to see what was transpiring downstairs. The young woman waited a few minutes, and then snuck down to the main floor and crouched in a hallway, silently listening to a conversation between Willie and some woman, who had flame red hair and was wearing a flowing chiffon floral orange dress.

"I told you, I met her tonight at the bar. Ouch..."

Julia continued to wrap Willie's wrist with a splint and bandages. "It seems to be a minor fracture. You'll be fine. But, surely you can understand Barnabas' doubt. You are suddenly found with some woman whom you never met, and you chose to take her to a place you consider your sanctuary. Even I have not been there." Julia studied Willie's body language, sure to catch him in a lie.

"I know how it looks, Julia. She was drunk and Bob wanted to close. It didn't feel right just dumpin' her off at a hotel. How'd that look for Barnabas? His employee randomly abandoning a drunk woman? Not very good."

"He is quite upset with you. He is considering the punishment for your actions as we speak. I don't know if I can help you out of it this time, Willie."

"Punishment? He broke it just 'cause he could." Willie held up his wrist. "I-I didn't do nothin' wrong!"

"Here, take these. They will calm your nerves and help ease any pain, and perhaps put you in a better frame of mind for when he returns." Two little pills shook out of a pill bottle and into the doctor's hand.

"No matter how hard I try, or what I do, it's never going to get better than this, is it? And one day he's gonna take a punishment too far, and then maybe it'll finally be over for me. Some days I wish he'd just kill me so I don't havta feel like this anymore."

Julia and Willie fell silent as Barnabas entered the room, and Emma retreated into the shadows to make sure she wasn't seen. Willie's heart was beating against his ribs, waiting to hear his fate. Thoughts of the young woman were pushed to the corner of his mind, and dread took center stage. His anxiety rose to new heights, choking him, and still he stood in silence. Waiting for his sentence.

"Clean this mess up, Willie. You have an hour before I return, and I hope that I find these rooms immaculate."

Willie looked around the room, glasses everywhere, confetti scattered in the carpet, plates of half eaten food smeared on fine china lying on every surface. All the remains of a successful party, whose guests felt no responsibility to help clean up after. But, all he could do was agree.

"Yes, Barnabas."

"And there is a stain on the chair where Carolyn spilled her drink. I expect that to be taken care of as well."

Willie looked wide eyed at his master, wanting to say something, but fear held his tongue.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No, no, Barnabas."

"One hour." Barnabas turned to Julia and held her coat open, waiting for her to slip it on. "I'll walk you back to Collinwood, Julia."

Willie stared at the door as they exited, knowing that an hour wasn't nearly enough time to clean everything. He turned back to face the mess, and was surprised to find Emma standing there in the middle of the room.

"We can do it. If we go fast, we can clean it all." She brushed a tear from her cheek, and tried to get a hold of herself after realizing fully what Willie's life truly was like.

"Go back upstairs and stay there." His voice was stern; this was not a conversation, it was a command.

"But I can help you!"

"NO! Go back to the room and don't come down until morning. I don't want your help!"

"You need my help!" Emma was yelling at him. "There is no way you can get this done by yourself before he gets back!"

Willie spun around and yelled at her.

"Exactly! There is no way I'll finish it alone. Do you think he doesn't know that?! He's counting on it! And, if you help, he'll know! He'll know you were down here! He'll know we're lying!" Willie set the plates down and grabbed Emma's hands in his and pleaded. "Please, please just go back upstairs and stay there. No matter what you hear, stay there."

"What's he going to do to you?"

"It doesn't matter. In the morning, as soon as the sun rises, leave this house and never come back. Do you understand? Don't come lookin' for me. Just leave. I'd have ya leave tonight, but he'd come after ya." Willie put his arm around her and walked her to the stairs. "Please."

* * *

Emma sat up all night. The silence of the house was maddening, and all she could think about was Willie. She waited for the first glimmer of sun to pop through the small window above the bed, and when it did, she rushed out the door and flew down the stairs. She wasn't surprised to find the woman from last night sitting in the chair, as if waiting for her.

"Emma, I don't think we were properly introduced. I am Dr. Julia Hoffman. Did you sleep well?" Julia asked between sips of her tea.

"No, I'm afraid not. Even with the fire, it is dreadfully cold in that room."

"Yes, Willie has complained of that many times." Julia set the teacup down on the small table, picked up her purse, and began fishing around inside of it.

"Where is Willie?" Emma casually looked around the room, hoping to see some sign of him.

"Come sit by me dear, and have some tea before you leave. I have called a cab for you." Julia patted the chair across from her.

Emma sat beside her, and something in her gut told her that this odd -looking woman knew exactly where Willie was. "I'd like to see Willie before I leave, to thank him for last night."

"That is quite impossible, he has left for the day."

"I see." Emma didn't believe that for a second. He was somewhere in that monster of a house, and she was going to find him.

"Emma, have you ever seen one of these?" Julia held up an ornate golden medallion. "It helps to stabilize your memory. You want things to go back to the way they were, don't you?"

"Yes." Emma stared at the medallion held before her.

"Just listen to my voice and you will find everything you've been seeking. Everything. See how the colors sparkle and dance? Look at it closely. You will remember nothing of Willie or this house. Do you understand? All interaction you have had with Willie will be forgotten." Emma nodded and the good doctor took the medallion and put it in her purse, and then snapped her fingers.

"So, Emma, did you enjoy your stay in Collinsport?"

Emma picked up her purse and smiled at Julia. "I truly did." She stuck her hand into her purse as she stood, and then turned to Julia with arms out stretched, a gun in her hands.

"Did you really think that trinket was going to work?"

Julia gasped at the sight of the barrel pointed at her. She sat dumfounded, mouth gaped open with no words coming to the rescue. Her mind erasing medallion had never failed her before.

"Where. Is. He." Emma walked closer to the odd looking woman, pointing the gun directly at her chest. "I know he's here, what did that thing do to him?"

Julia stood up and backed several feet away from Emma. "I – I told you, he isn't here. Put that thing away before someone gets hurt."

"Do you think I don't know how to use it? Honey, I grew up on the streets of south Chicago, I know my way around a gun. So, tell me where he is, NOW!" Emma shot a warning round right past Julia's head, causing her ears to ring. "Next time it goes right through you, if you're lucky."

"I'm not sure where he is. The last time I saw them, Barnabas took him downstairs."

"Lead the way." Emma maneuvered behind Julia and pushed the gun into her shoulder. "Come on, get going."

Julia walked to the basement door and wiggled the knob. "He must have locked it."

"Bullshit, get the key. You know you have it."

"I don't." Julia tried to look innocent.

Emma looked around the room and saw Julia's purse sitting on the floor. Holding the gun steady on her target, she reached over, grabbed the purse, and dumped its contents on the table.

"Geeze. You sell these?" dozens of pill bottles fell out, along with syringes and little glass bottles. She looked up at Julia in bewilderment. "What on earth do you do with all this?"

"I work at a psychiatric hospital; they are needed." She said flatly.

"How often do you drug Willie with this shit?" There was no verbal answer, only a shrug, and Emma became even more livid than before. "You do it all the time, don't you? Does he even know? Do you slip it into his food to make him do what you want? You're just as bad as that monster, worse maybe." Then Emma saw it, a long skeleton key sitting on the table beneath all the junk. She grabbed it, and still holding the gun steady, slipped it into the large door, turned it and heard the loud click. She opened the door, which revealed a staircase down to nothingness.

"Are there lights?"

"What do you think?" Julia said sarcastically.

Emma went back to her purse and pulled out a flashlight, "My father always told me to keep a gun and a flashlight with me. And duct tape. If you behave, hopefully I won't need it. You first, Dr. Hoffman."

They descended the stair case, and as reached the bottom, Emma swallowed her fear after seeing the coffin sitting alone in the cavernous room.

"Is that him? Barnabas?"

Julia nodded quietly.

"Where's Willie?" Emma walked around the large room, taking her eyes off Julia for a moment, and Julia tried to pounce on her. Emma shook her off, and with the butt of her gun knocked the devious doctor out. _I should have done that right away_ , she thought.

She continued to search the room, and heard the faintest of noises. She let the sounds carry her, until she came up on a narrow hallway and large metal door. She could hear a soft cry and muffled words.

"Let me out. Please, let me out…"

She shone her light through the bars, searching for the source, sickened at the fact that she already knew it was Willie. Her flashlight revealed what she didn't want to see.

"Willie? No!" She lifted the large metal bar that sealed the door shut, and pushed it open. "Willie!" Dropping to his side, she set the flashlight down on the floor, shining it towards him. He was curled up on the floor, shivering uncontrollably, wearing only a thin white t-shirt and his boxers. No socks, no blanket. His lips were turning blue, and every inch of his body trembled. It couldn't have been more than 40 degrees in the cold cell, and he had been in there all night.

Abigail grabbed the flashlight, ran out of the cell, nearly tripping over Julia on her way. She ran up to the bedroom she had slept in, grabbed the blankets and then returned to Willie.

"Here, here let me warm you." Emma wrapped the shaking young man in the blankets, and held him close to her as he shuddered. "Where are your clothes? He could have killed you!" The young man didn't respond to her at all. He simply pleaded into the darkness to be let go, and her heart sank.

"You're okay…you'll be okay. Can you stand? Let's get you out of here, okay?" She stuck the flashlight in her mouth, and dragged Willie from the cell, using the blankets to move him. Once out of the cell and in the cavernous room, she propped him up against the wall and re positioned the blankets around him. From the corner of her eye she saw Julia begin to rouse, and with no hesitation, she stormed back towards her, dragged her backwards and tossed her in the cell. "Let's see how you like it, you bitch." Emma muttered under her breath.

Time to take care of that monster. Emma returned to the room and set her eyes on the coffin. She thought she would be more frightened, but her anger was stronger that her fear, and she flipped the coffin open, revealing the white skinned, dead, evil being, lying motionless there. She wasted no time in hustling up the stairs to find something she could use to impale the beast with. You're in a house where a vampire lives. A wooden stake isn't going to be in the junk drawer. Emma stopped scavenging through the drawers in the kitchen. She paused for a moment, saw the knife rack on the counter, and picked the sharpest one. She remembered seeing a broom in the hallway, and rushed for it. Once it was retrieved, it took no time at all to put a sharp point on the end of the wooden handle. She poked the palm of her hand a few times with the makeshift spear, and ran back down the stairs, shocked to see Willie standing beside the coffin, and closing the lid.

"Willie, come back and sit down." She walked towards him, and he attempted to push her away, with little success. Emma wrapped her arms around him and guided him back to the floor. "Sit here. Just sit and soon this will all be over, okay?" She wrapped the blanket back around him, and he quieted.

Picking the broomstick in her hands, she opened the coffin once again, and hopped on top of it, one leg balancing on each wooden side.

"Your days of tormenting him are over, you bastard." She reached her arms up and saw Willie coming at her again, but before he could get to her she thrust her hands down, the sharp wooden handle piercing through the vampire's chest. The vampire let out a mournful screech, eyes opening wide as his hands gripped the sides of the coffin. Emma stumbled back and fell to the ground, realizing that Willie too was lying on the ground, gripping his chest, and his hands covered in blood.

"Willie!? No! NO!" She looked at him, and he was staring back at her.

"Finish it Emma. Set me free. Please, set me free."

"NO! This isn't what's supposed to happen!"

The blood began to pool on Willie's chest and he continued to plead with her. "Finish it!"

Emma was crying and shouting. "This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

"Finish it, Emma!" Willie cried.

"She jumped back on the coffin and took ahold of the makeshift stake. Rage for the beast swelled within her, and she screamed as she plunged the weapon deeper into the vampire's chest, tears streaming down her face and anguish filling her heart. She could see Willie's body jerk with each thrust. With the very last push of the stake, Barnabas' eyes softened, and his skin filled with a human glow. Emma jumped down from the casket and stood over him, watching his color come back into his face.

"Thank you." He whispered from the casket. "I am free…I can finally be with my Josette." Within seconds his body disintegrated to dust before her eyes.

She turned back to Willie, sobbing over him, and holding his lifeless hand. "You're free." She held him close to her, wrapping the blanket around him and rocking him in her lap as she wept. She sat like that for what seemed like forever, and then heard Julia screaming from the cell. Gently, she laid Willie down and released Julia.

"What have you done?!" Julia hissed. She went to the coffin to find dust. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" She screamed at Emma, and slapped her across the face. Emma returned the violent action by gripping Julia by her silk ascot and throwing her to the floor.

"What you should have done a long time ago! He is free now; they both are." Emma picked up her flashlight, and headed up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home." Emma responded. "There is nothing left for me here

* * *

The sun was shining high in the sky, and Emma sat on the tiny balcony of her apartment, sipping coffee and listening to the birds sing. It had been nearly 3 months since she left Collinwood, and she made good on her earlier intentions. She left Beals and Collinwood without a trace. Disappeared into the world like her con artist of a father taught her to. She changed her name, got all the fake documentation needed, and started a new life on the small island of Nevis, where she worked as a traveling nurse. Not a single day passed when she didn't think about Willie. She sat, looking out over the water, and was startled to hear someone yell to her from behind the palm trees.

"Hey!"

She looked around and then saw a figure emerge from the shadows.

"You're a hard person to find."

"Willie!?" The ceramic cup dropped from her hands and shattered on the ground three floors below.

"Can I come up?"

"Yes! YES!" Emma ran to the door of her apartment and didn't wait for him to get to her. She nearly flew down the flights of stairs, and when she saw him, jumped into his arms, shifting his balance, and sending them both into the sand. "How? How are you here?" She asked between kisses and tears. "I thought…"

Willie wrapped his arms around her tight and sat up, positioning her to sit on his lap facing him. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and stared into her eyes. "You saved me." He said quietly, and she started to cry harder. "You set me free."

"I thought you were dead."

"So did I. Turns out only the part of me connected to Barnabas died. I came to a few days later. Julia took care of me until I was well enough to leave.

"Julia?"

"Yeah. Somethin' about redemption. Anyway, I left lookin' for you, but you just disappeared. It's a good thing we both hung out in the wrong circles. I checked with some of my old acquaintances and one of them recognized you."

"Recognized me?"

"I got your picture from your uncle." Willie quieted for a moment and just stared at her. "God, it's good to see you."

Emma pulled him in against her, and held onto him as tight as she could.

"I'm planning to stay for a while if that's okay with you." Willie whispered into her hair.

"Not for a while. Forever."

 ** _The End_**


End file.
